Nicanor Nearing His First Start

It is January which means that the race to the Kentucky Derby has officially begun for three year olds. Of course it is still VERY early, but the Barbaro faithful are holding their collective breath to see if Nicanor might be in the running.

According to the rumor mill, the official buzz is that Nicanor is set to make his debut sometime at the end of this month somewhere in Florida, most likely Gulfstream Park. He has been training nicely under Michael Matz at his southern home base, Palm Meadows Training Center, and has logged workouts on both the dirt and the turf.

The Thoroughbred Times reports that Matz seems to be pleased with the colt's progress on both surfaces. "Nicanor does look like he could do well on any surface we want to run on," Matz said. "He's looking like a competitive horse, but he obviously has some big shoes to fill."

Any chance of this debut coming off "under the radar" are close to nil as CBS news has logged a request for any Fans of Barbaro who might be attending the race alert to them to their intentions. If you are going, email Jack at jer@cbsnews.com. They are contemplating including the race in the CBS news broadcast.

I know the Fans of Barbaro are very excited about Nicanor's first start and can hardly believe that it might indeed occur three years to the day that his big brother passed away. Big shoes to fill indeed and while it is foolhardy to think that lightening could strike twice, it is more important to wish him good racing luck and a safe journey.

In my opinion, Nicanor would have to be some kind of super horse for him to become eligible to compete in the Kentucky Derby, but racing is all about hope, and who am I to dash anyones?

As they say, anything can happen.